Oxygen reduction in alkaline medium at thin MnxCo3−xO4 (0≤x≤1) spinel films prepared by spray pyrolysis. Effect of oxide cation composition on the reaction kinetics

We have studied the relationships between the cation distributions in bulk and on the surface and the electrocatalytical reactivity towards the oxygen reduction reaction (orr) on thin film electrodes of cobalt and manganese spinel type oxides MnxCo3−xO4 (0≤x≤1). The cationic distributions were computed from XRD, XPS, magnetism and oxidation power measurements showing the presence of the Co3+/Co2+ and Mn4+/Mn3+ solid state redox couples and also vacancies in octahedral sites. The electrocatalytic activity and kinetic parameters for the orr were determined using the RRDE technique in 1 M KOH solution at 25 °C. Two Tafel zones of slopes bc1 and bc2 around −60 and −120 mV dec−1 were observed. The disk current/ring current ratio, (ID/IR), increases with x and decreases with the applied overpotential. At constant overpotential η the real electrocatalytical current densities j increase when x increases. The orr can be characterized by an intrinsic kinetic parameter J′ obtained from this current ratio at various electrode rotational frequencies. This J′ increases with the redox couple Co2+/Co3+ ratio, increasing more in the bulk than at the surface of the electrode.